dixon



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. G. DIXUN.

COLLAR 0R GUFI' DRYING MACHINE.

No. 495,244. Patented Apr. 11, 1893.

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(No Model.) Sheets-Sheet. 2. J. G. DIXON.

v COLL-AR 0R GUFI' DRYING MACHINE. p No. 495,244. l Patented Apr. 11,1893.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. G. DIXON.

- GOLLAB. oR-GUPF DRYING MACHINE. En No. 495,244. Patented Apr. 1l,1893.

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45; AHORA/EVS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN G. DIXON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HERMANN WILCK, OF SAMEPLACE.

COLLAR OR CUFF DRYING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,244, dated'April11, 1893.

Application led February 28, 1891. Serial No. 383,278. (No model.)

T @ZZ whm t Wwf/y concern: represents a vertical longitudinal section ofBe it known that I, JOHN G. DIXON, a citimyimproved collar and cuffdrying machine, zen of the United States, residing in the city, showingthe drying chamber with its vesticounty, and State of New York,haveinvented bule at the ingoing end and vthe pendent 55 certain new anduseful Improvementsin Colvalves at the outgoing end, also the adjustlaror Cuff Drying Machines, of which the able compartment containing thedriving following is a specitication. sprocket-Wheels. Fig. 2 is atop-view of a This invention has reference to certain im? Inodied formof carrierframe, showing its provements in the patent for collar andcuff connection with the drive-chains and the 6o IO- drying machines forwhich Letters Patent tracks on which itis moved. Fig. 3 is a perweregranted to me, No. 431,7 66, dated July spective view of a portion ofthe drying 8, 1890, which improvements are designed with chamber, withthe casing broken away so as the view of simplifying the construction ofto show the relative position of the tracks, the apparatus and ofrendering the same more steam pipes', sprocket-wheels, drive chains 65I5 elfective while in use, especially as regards and carrier-frames.

the shutting out of the cold air from the dry- Similar letters ofreference indicates correing chamber, the arrangement of the curvedspending parts. tracks vfor the movable carrier-frames, and Referring tothe drawings, A represents the the arrangement of the driving sprocketdrying chamber which is supported on cross- 7o 2O wheels in a separatecompartment, said comtimbers made vin the shapeof a rectangular partmentbeing made movable and adapted boxor compartment the walls of which areto be arranged relatively to the drying chammade of wood and lined withsheet metal. ber so that the endless chain by which the The dryingchamberA is provided with inlet carrier-frames yare moved can betightened openings a at the bottom, for the admission 75 from time totime as required. Y of cold air, and with outlet openings a at the Theinvention consists substantially as top part for the escape of the hotair and the hereinafter shown and described of an immoisture evaporatedfrom the articles passedy proved collar and cuff drying machine whichthrough the drying chamber. In the drying is composed of a dryingchamber having horichamber A are arranged a number of hori- 8o zontallyarranged steam-coils, and movable zontal steam-coils B, the lowermostcoil of valves at the out-going end. Endless drivewhich is arrangedclose to the bottom of the chains are mounted on guide sprocket-wheelsdrying chamber and extended from one end Y and are moved by rotarysprocket-wheels of to some distance from the opposite end, while largersize which are arranged in a separate the remaining coils are arrangedat properin- 85 compartment which is capable of adjustment tervals oneabove the other. The coils B extoward the drying chamber so as to keepthe tend alternately from opposite ends of the endless drive-chainstaut. To the endless drying chamber but terminate at some dischains arepivoted a number of carrier-frames tance from the opposite end-wall, soas to leave on which the screens containing the collars a sufficientspace for permitting the passage 9o 4o and cus are placed. At theout-going end of the carrier-frames alternately around said of thedrying chamber an auxiliary endless steam-coils in their'passage throughthe drychain is arranged. carrying pendent valves ing chamber. Above andclose tothe steamthat are so arranged as to drop into the space coils Bare arranged horizontal tracks C C between two carriers, said valvespreventing which are preferably supported on brackets 95 the ingress ofthe cold air into the drying b attached to the side-walls of the dryingchamber. chamber A. On the tracks C C are guided a The inventionconsists further of certain n umber of carrier-frames D which are movedadditional details of construction, which will over the tracks in closeproximity to the steambe fully explained hereinafter and finally .coilsso as to receive the full effect of the ra` roo 5o pointed out in theclaims. diant heat of the steam-pipes. The carrier! In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure l frames D are supported on rollers or wheels appliedto diagonally opposite corners of the same, said carrier-frames beingpivoted by laterally-extending center pivots d to the drive-chains Ewhich are guided over sprocket-wheels E that are arranged alternately atopposite ends of the drying chamber but intermediatelybetweenthesteam-coils arranged 1n the same, as shown clearly in Fig. l. Theshafts of the sprocket-wheels E are supported in suitable journalbearings of the sidewalls of the drying chamber A, said sprocketwheelsserving simply as guide-wheels for the drive-chains, while twosprocket-Wheels E2 of larger diameter than the sprocket-wheels E serve`as driving wheels for the endless chains E. The larger drivingsprocket-wheels E2 are located in an independent compartment F which issupported by anti-friction rollers on longitudinal supporting timbersattached to the tloor. The auxiliary .compartment E is, like the dryingchamber7 made of wood lined with sheet metal and contains the drivingsprocket-wheels. The driving sprocketwheels E2 extend through an openingin the top-part of the compartment F so that the drive-chains can passfrom the same to the vestibule A at the in-going end of the dryingchamber, as shown in Fig. l. The shaft of the sprocket-wheels E2 issupported in bearings of the compartment E and receives rotary motion bysuitable transmission from a power-shaft, while all the movable parts ofthe apparatus receive their motion from the shaft of the sprocket-wheels E2. Setscrews f pass through the end-wall of the compartment Fnext adjoining the wall of the drying chamber A and press against saideudwall, said screws serving to adjust the relative position of themovable compartment F to the drying chamber Aand permit thereby thetaking up of the slack of the drive-chains in case of the stretching orlengthening of the same by use. The drive-chains form, in connectionwith the carrier-fram es pivoted thereto, a so-called endless sectionalapron which is continually kept in motion so as to pass the articlesplaced on the saine through the drying chamber and subject them duringtheir passage, to the drying action of the heat in the same.

The carrier-frames D are made of oblong shape and adapted to support thescreens on which the articles to be dried are placed. The carrier-framesD are provided with wheels or rollers d that are placed on short axleslocated at diagonally opposite corners of the same, said rollers ortram-wheels being designed to support the weight ot' they carrier-frameswhich are placed on the drive-chains while moving over the horizontalparts of the tracks and to maintain the carrier-frames in a horizontalposition while the drive chains are moving over the sprocket-wheels atthe curved portions of the tracks. The roller d at one corner of thecarrier-frame D is guided along the track attached to one side-wall ofthe drying chamber, while the roller d at the diagonally opposite cornerof the carrier-frame is guided along the track vsupported on theopposite side-wall of the drying chamber. When drying heavy and bulkyarticles 'on the carrierframes they may be arranged with rollers d ateach corner, in which case two tracks are arranged at each side of thedrying chamber for the rollers as shown in Fig. 2. At the points wherethe carrier-frames pass around the sprocket-wheels, the guide tracks arecurved and extended over and parallel with the horizontal track portionsnext below the same, as shown in Fig. 1, the inner curved portions ofthe track being provided with gaps or recesses bx for the passage of thepivots connecting the frames D with the drive-chains. By means of thecurved end-portions of the ltracks C C the carrier-frames D are readilytransferred from the upper tracks to the intermediate and lowermosttracks in the drying chamber. By the curved end portions of the trackscertain defects in the arrangement of the tracks described in my priorpatent were overcome, inasmuch as it enables the rollers of thecarrier-frames to leave the end of one track and pass along theoverlapping extensionsof the curved end portions and the curvedportionsuntil the carrier-frames haverounded the sprocket-wheels andarrived at the next horizontal track portion. While rounding thevsupporting sprocket-Wheels E the weight of the carrier-frames isentirely upon the pivots of the drive-chains which are supported at thattime by the sprocket-wheels E. It will be observed that no gaps arerequired in the curved portions of the tracks for those rollers whichare at that time either at the front or rear of the carrier-frames,whereby a steady and easy motion of the frames around thesprocket-wheels is obtained. The gaps are only suliciently large topermit the passage of the connecting pivots or trunnions of thecarrier-frames and chain, but not large enough to allow theguide-rollers to pass through the same, so that the latter are compelledto move along the tracks and produce thereby the steady, horizontalmotion of the carrier-frames through the drying chamber. The curved endportions of the tracks are like the horizontal portions supported bybrackets extending from and attached to the side-walls of the dryingchamber. The forward end of each carrier-frame D is provided with anupwardly extending liange dX which is nearly equal in width with theheight of the narrow vestibule A arranged at the in-going end of thedrying chamber A. This vestibule is formed of parallel walls which forma throat-like extension of the drying chamber above the compartment F.The vestibule is of somewhat greater length than the Width of acarrierframe, so that the ilanges on passing into the same partiallyclose the vestibule, byl which the ingress of a good deal of cold airwhich would seriously injure the ventilation in the drying chamber isprevented. The flanges dx are preferably made of sheet iron and pro- IOOl'IO

l ss

vided with flexible edges of canvas 'or o ther suitable material so asto makeaperfect joint when passing through the vestibule A.

At the outgoing end of the drying chamber A where the drive-chains withtheir carrierframes make their exit from the same, it is impracticableto use a vestibule in the same manner as at the ingoing end of thedrying chamber, for the reason that in drying collars or cuifs or likearticles they are liable to curl up or increase otherwise in bulk andsize so as to be liable to be scraped o from the carrier-frames whenpassing through the narrow exit opening. To prevent, however, theentrance of cold air at the outgoing end, movable valves g are arrangedwhich are applied to an endless chain g that is supported on sprocketwheels g2 and arranged between horizontal partitions g3 at some distancefrom the bottom of the drying chamber. These horizontal partitions gSare attached to the side-walls of the drying chamber and form twopassages, the upper for the return-motion of the valves and the lowerfor the carrierframes. The sprocket-wheels g2 are driven by suitabletransmission from the sprocketwheel E next above the outgoing end of thedrying chamber as shown in Fig. 1. The valves g are pivoted to theendless chain g and are so arranged as to drop in the space between twoadjoining carrier-frames. The chains g are propelled at the same rate ofspeed as the drive-chains tol which the carrier-frames are pivoted, sothat the pendent doors or valves g travel with the same speed and keepthereby the outgoing passage at the rear of each carrier-frame closed.The endless chain g is prevented by horizontal rails g4 from sagging bythe weight of the pendent valves. While the valves move through thelower passage, their upper ends will be close to the lower horizontalpartition g3, while their lower ends will drag upon the floor of thedrying chamber. As each Iof these valves emerges from the dryingchamber, it will be lifted by the endless chain g around thesprocket-wheels and passed in inclined position through the narrow upperpassage between the partitions gs until they are dropped again into thespace between the carrierframes, the valves keeping thereby the outgoingair passages closed while allowing the carrier-frames to pass from thedrying chamber A into the adjoining compartment F. When drying morebulky substances, it may be desirable to use movable valves operated byan endless chain at the ingoing end of the drying chamber in the samemanner as at the outgoing end.

The operation of the apparatus is similar to the one described in myprior patent before referred to, with this diiference that the screensare placed on the sectional apron at the upper part of the drivingsprocket-wheels E2 near the vestibule at the ingoing end of the dryingchamber. The articles that are to be dried are then conducted throughthe .drying chamber and dried by the heat produced in the same by thesteam-coils, the moisture evaporated being carried on' by the upwarddraft established between the bottom and top-Ventilating yopenings ofthe drying chamber. When the carrier-frames leave the drying chamber thearticles on the same are conducted to the box of the compartment F,where they are taken off from the carrier-frames by the attendants, andsubjected to the ironing operation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, witha drying chamber havingguide-tracks provided with curved portions at alternately opposite ends,of guid- -ing sprocket-wheels at the curved portions, a separate movablecompartment for receiving the articles when dried, drivingsprocketwheels of larger diameter in said compartment, endlessdrive-chains over the guiding and driving sprocket-wheels, and means foradjusting the separate compartment relatively to the drying chamber soas to keep the drive-chains taut, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, of a drying chamber, horizontal heating coils in thesame, tracks having curved end portions at alternately opposite ends,endless drive-chains, guiding sprocket-wheels for said chains located inthe drying chamber, driving sprocket-Wheels outside of the same, anauxiliary endless chain at the outgoing end of the drying chamber andpendent valves applied to said chain and adapted to close the outgoingend of the drying chamber, so as to prevent the ingress of the cold air,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, withra drying chamber, of endless drive-chains,carrier-frames pivoted thereto, horizontal partitions at the outgoingend of a drying chamber, an endless chain moving at the same speed asthe drive-chains and valves pivoted to said auxiliary chain, said valvesdropping between the carrier-frames and being adapted to close theoutgoing end of the drying chamber and prevent the ingress of the coldair, substantially as set forth. Y

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as vlol:

IIO

my invention I have signed my name in presv Witnesses:

PAUL GOEPEL, CHARLES SCHROEDER.

